Format is strategy. Sidekick’s growth path — NZ trade and US retail — is built around 250ml cans, not a dual glass-and-can portfolio that splits inventory and storytelling.
Glass bottles are not the wholesale path we are selling into next.
Why cans win the operating model
| Constraint | Can answer |
|---|---|
| Cold-door facing | Stacks, chills, grabs like other premium cans |
| Hospitality / minibar | Fits doors and room fridges |
| Takeaway / tourism | Survives movement |
| Wholesale pick-pack | One case type: 12 × 250ml, one flavour |
| US specialty | Familiar RTD soft-drink format |
Café detail: Cans vs glass for cafés. Venues: Cans-first for hospitality. Pack FAQ: Sidekick wholesale pack and MOQ FAQ.
What we stopped optimising for
Waiting on a bottle programme to “look premium.” Premium is the drink and the facing — fruit, honey, clean finish — not a second format that stalls reorder.
Home shoppers get the same story: Cans for the home fridge.
From shrub jug to case
The kitchen drink was never a bottle line. Scaling meant a can and a case a platform can sell: From Nana’s shrub to a scalable RTD.
NZ: Upstock. US trade: for retailers. Browse: sodakick.com.
